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Building an American Economy to Last: American Competiveness in Manufacturing

August 16, 2012 - 9:20am

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Saving Energy and Resources

Thanks to additive manufacturing technology, Oak Ridge National Laboratory was able to fabricate a robotic hand with less energy use and material waste. The novel, lightweight, low-cost fluid powered hand was selected for a 2012 R&D 100 award. | Photo courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

An Additive Manufacturing First

With research help from the Energy Department's National Laboratories, Stratasys and Optomec Inc. developed a manufacturing first when they merged 3D printing and printed electronics. The two companies created the "smart wing" -- an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) model -- by using additive manufacturing technologies and printing fully functional electronics on the wing structure. | Photo courtesy of Optomec &amp; Stratasys.

Date taken: 2012-08-16 09:14

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Developing the Scientists of Tomorrow

Energy Secretary Steven Chu adds his signature to FIRST Robotics Competition entry from Hardin Valley Academy, Knoxville, TN. The robot was created using additive manufacturing as part of STEM -- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics -- education outreach at the Energy Department's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. Hardin Valley Academy's FIRST Robotics entry will be at today's National Network for Manufacturing Innovation pilot announcement. | Photo courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The Energy Department is working aggressively to support these pillars of the new American economy through its efforts to help develop America’s vast energy resources, from wind and solar to coal and natural gas. But did you know the Energy Department is also helping to make America’s manufacturers more competitive in the global marketplace?

Today, the Obama Administration announced the selection of the first public-private pilot institute for manufacturing innovation in Youngstown, Ohio, to help revitalize American manufacturing and encourage companies to invest in the United States. This new partnership, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), was selected through a competitive process to receive an initial investment of $30 million in federal funding and matched by $40 million from the winning consortium of manufacturing firms, universities, community colleges, and non-profit organizations from the Ohio-Pennsylvania ‘Tech Belt.’

The NAMII will help the U.S. fully harness the innovation infrastructure needed to support additive manufacturing technology and products. Additive manufacturing, often referred to as 3D printing, is a new way of making products and components from a digital model. Like an office printer that puts 2D digital files on a piece of paper, a 3D printer creates components by depositing thin layers of material one after another -- only where required -- using a digital blueprint until the exact component has been created.

The Department has already begun to support additive manufacturing technology through Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. Working directly with process equipment suppliers, ORNL is identifying critical equipment and advancements to establish additive manufacturing as a mainstream process and help revolutionize the way products are designed and built.

By eliminating production steps and using substantially less material, ‘additive’ processes could be able to reduce waste and save more than 50 percent of energy compared to today’s ‘subtractive’ manufacturing processes, and reduce material costs by up to 90 percent. The use of additive manufacturing can potentially benefit a wide range of industries including defense, aerospace, automotive, biomedical, consumer products, and metals manufacturing. This is good news for the American economy, as additive manufacturing could bring outsourced manufacturing back to the U.S. and create new jobs.

Since February 2010, America’s manufacturers have added 532,000 jobs, the strongest job growth for any 30-month period since June 1989. Companies are also increasingly choosing to invest in the U.S. and bringing jobs back. By taking steps to support the NAMII and additive manufacturing, the Department and Administration are building on this momentum and moving towards an American economy that is truly ‘Built to Last.’